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Saturday, June 13, 2015

Punk or Provocateur with...Erin Beirnard

Name: Erin Beirnard

Hometown: Anchorage, Alaska (but currently living in North Bergen, NJ)

Tell us about The Roaring Girl:The Roaring Girl is a Jacobean COMEDY, which means - in contrast to the tragedies - it features a rebellious female protagonist who isn't punished for her rebelliousness by dying a hideous death at the end. In fact, it's an incredibly jovial, bawdy romp with multiple plotlines featuring star-crossed lovers, unfaithful wives, duplicitous servants, sword fights, and a central character who acts as a kind of fairy godmother prevailing over the madness.

Describe The Roaring Girl in 3 words: carousing, colorful, subversive

Who do you play in The Roaring Girl?: Mistress Prudence Gallipot, the apothecary’s wife

Which company member is most likely to be a roaring boy or girl?: Malloree Hill – who, appropriately, plays Moll. She’s amazing.

Most likely to get in a brawl?: Ha! Alyssa Block, who plays one of my fellow shopkeepers, the coachman, and a cutpurse. Sweetheart and badass.

Who’s the fanciest?: Without a doubt, Joel DeCandio, who plays the gallant that steals my character’s heart.

What is the best thing about being a part of The Roaring Girl?: Seeing this very talented company take a text that’s difficult and relatively obscure and make it come alive. In certain ways it’s more exciting even than staging Shakespeare, because I have zero preconceived notions about how this play will look or sound. So every rehearsal has been a revelation.

What is your favorite moment in The Roaring Girl?: There’s a moment where Moll Cutpurse, the title character, confronts one of her would-be suitors and challenges him to really see her. She has this astounding monologue that’s so sharp and contemporary-sounding – a 17th-century feminist rallying cry.Why The Roaring Girl now?: Moll chooses to live life according to her own dictates: she wears breeches, she brawls and swordfights, she speaks and moves through her life freely, without apology. And the play shows the resulting chaos – a chaos that’s not initiated by Moll, who’s not harming anyone, but by the people around her who are threatened by her behavior. And it also presents characters – largely other women - who are foils for Moll, who for one reason or another feel trapped in their lives and are acting out, but in clandestine ways. And that’s a universal theme - societal expectations in opposition to individual freedom of spirit – that has just as much relevance today.

Punk or Provocateur?: Mmmm. Closet punk.

Have you ever performed in rep before? What are the challenges/struggles?: No, as a matter of fact! Because I’m not in the other show, I’m not feeling the challenges – I’m just excited to be a part of this pairing. I feel like a server about to bring out a delectable wine and cheese.

What are you most excited to see in the other play?: I deliberately haven’t asked many questions about why Everyday Inferno choose these two plays – I wanted to get to know Roaring Girl really well through my own process as an actor, and then see Punk as Fuck and let the parallels surprise me.Why should we come see Punks and Provocateurs?: This is real theatre! Visceral, muscular, and exciting - language hurtling through air, bodies hurtling through space. And if at any point you get confused, you can safely assume it’s either a dick joke or a syphilis reference. You must see it!